These Bad Habits Are Hard On Your Teeth

Do you have a bad habit that is hard on your teeth. Let's discuss a few of the most common things we see that cause a problem with your smile and are unhealthy.

Tongue Piercings-It might be trendy and your friends think it is cool, but tongue and lip piercings can do serious damage to your teeth. The most common issue is causing a fracture or broken teeth. Usuallly this in permanent teeth so it is a serious issue. If you must have a piercing at least use a plastic stud and not a metal one. I would hate to see you lose a tooth for a fashion statement.

Chewing On Ice-At least it is sugar free but the habit of constant chewing or crunching on ice causes undo stress on your enamel and can lead to crazing or breakage. Try chewing sugarless gum as a substitute.

Playing Sports With No Mouthguard-Wearing a small piece of plastic covering your teeth can be a lifesaver when it comes to your smile. No one plans on getting a tooth knocked out but it is all too common. Hockey players are famous for it. It is mandatory for football players to wear one and now you see more and more basketball and baseball players wearing a mouthguard. It is certainly cheap insurance compared to the cost of replacing a tooth or repairing a broken one.

Bedtime Bottle For Babies-Bottles do not belong in the crib! Do yourself a favor and don't let the habit start. Milk, formula and juices all have some level of sugar in them and having your baby hold that in their mouth is a path to decay. This is one of the most unhealthy things we see and it is very sad to see a two year old with a mouth full of cavites. You are not doing your baby any favors by putting them down with a bottle.

Teeth Grinding-The formal name for this is burxism and it very much stresses not only your teeth but the gums, bone a jaw joint. We recommend protecting your teeth by getting a boil and bite mouthguard. This is an inexpensive fix. There are more exact ways of dealing with this if the easy nightguard will not work.

Constant Use of Cough Drops or Candy-We see people who are trying to quit smoking have a piece of candy in their mouth at all times. This can be very destructive if you do not use sugarless candy. We also see a person with a cold use constant cough drops. These are two sneaky ways you can harm yourself. Anything you are doing for a long period of time needs to be sugarless.

Opening Things With Your Teeth-Your teeth are made for biting chewing and helping with speech. Don't use them to cut fishing line and tear open packaging. Scissors work much better anyway. We see lots of front tooth fractures from using your teeth in an incorrect way.

Chewing On A Pencils And Pens-After everything else we have said about how to treatr your teeth this now is obvious but some people have this habit. This also can be very destructive because of the long term stresses it involves. Once again, try using sugarless gum as an alternative.

Smoking-There is nothing good about tobacco use and your health. You mouth is no different. Besides staining your teeth you run the risk of oral cancer on your mouth, lips and tongue. This is certainly a habit you need to break.

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